|
''Graciliceratops'' (meaning 'graceful horned face') is a small ceratopsian dinosaur originally described by Maryanska and Osmólska in 1975 and referred to ''Microceratops gobiensis''.〔Maryanska, T., and H. Osmólska. 1975. "Protoceratopsidae (Dinosauria) of Asia." Palaeontologia Polonica 33:133–181.〕 It was later redescribed as a new genus and species by Paul Sereno in 2000.〔Sereno, P. C. 2000. "The fossil record, systematics and evolution of pachycephalosaurs and ceratopsians from Asia." The age of dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia:480–516.〕 It is known from the Late Cretaceous period and its fossils were found in Mongolia. Only a partial skeleton has been found. The type (and only known) species is ''Graciliceratops mongoliensis''. ''Graciliceratops'' is known from Shireegiin Gashuun in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, north of the Nemegt Basin. The Shireegiin Gashuun locality is thought to be older than the Djadokhta localities that produced ''Protoceratops'', and is probably early Late Cretaceous in age.〔 The relationships of the genus are unclear, however the frill has large fenestrae bounded by very slender struts. This structure is very similar to that of the later ''Protoceratops''.〔 The skull of the animal measures an estimated twenty centimetres,〔 and the whole animal would have been about the size of a cat. However, the arches and bodies of the vertebrae are not fused, which suggests that the animal was not fully grown when it died. The adult may have approached ''Protoceratops'' in size, which grew to around two meters.〔 Like other ceratopsians, ''Graciliceratops'' would have been an herbivore, using its powerful beak and shearing teeth to process tough plant matter. Little is known about the flora of the ancient Gobi Desert, and so it is unclear what it would have eaten. ==See also== * Timeline of ceratopsian research * ''Leptoceratops'' * ''Microceratus'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Graciliceratops」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|